This is the journal of a cardboard genius, Alex, who has a little brother who annoys him to the point that he decides to build a star ship (out of cardboard, it really works) so he can move to a different planet.

If you like Winnie the Pooh, or The Little Prince, you'll probably like this story, about a voyage of a snail and an ant on a branch of a tree. It is full of the philosophy that your kids will find humorous, but you will recognize as deep.

Each time a child in Ms. Plum's class needs to learn a lesson, she sends them to fetch an item from her magical closet. An animal always follows the child and somehow, the lesson is learned. The book is original, though it reminds me a bit of Wayside Stories.

The Great One is the older sister, while Pain is the younger brother. This early chapter book tells growing up stories of these two siblings. The first person point of view changes, depending on the chapter, between the two siblings.

Many books can wet your eyes, or make you laugh, but few evoke the emotion of amazement. When you visit the grand canyon, you say wow. At the end of this book, both you and your child will be amazed with the ingenuity that people are capable of. This novel is a subtle masterpiece.

This is the first book in the Moongobble and Me series. Edward, a young boy apprentices to a neophyte wizard, Moongobble. Moongobble has a habit of messing up his spells and turning things to cheese. The Moongobble series has all the elements of fantasy: knights, dragons, witches,... but none of the violence usually present: the dragon of doom turns out to be roughly a foot long. The writing is witty, but simple enough for a four year old to understand.

One way you can tell how much your kids like a book is how loud they cry when you close the book and announce bedtime. This book is exciting enough to elicit protests. It is exciting, action packed with a super hero, but mild enough to read to a young one. Each book contains a mystery that the listener can try to figure out (it is pretty obvious to the adult reader).

Do you think it is funny when some one steps in dog poo? If so, you'll find this book funny. When a parent is mean to a child, the parent gets the giggler treatment: a day where he repeatedly steps in dog poo. The book is extremely off beat, which makes for a nice change.

Warning: although the Tashi stories are simple to understand, they are very much in the style of the old fairy tales. In this first volume, there is a Hansel and Gretal adaptation and it could be a little scary or graphic for some kids. Tashi is character and hero who currently lives in modern Australia, but previously lived in Feudal Japan. Each book in the series tells of Tashi's past adventures where he outsmarts an evil war lord or other villain The stories are clever, and short. This particular book contains the first 7 book in the series.

Andrew is a child genius inventor. His inventions take his cousin Judy and him on various adventures. Each adventure lasts four books (each book is almost always 75 pages) and it is possible to read adventures out of order. The books are filled with scientific facts: the author is an established biology children's textbook writer. I personally learned a lot of neat science from the books. Don't think these books are dry, Greenburg mixes in interesting facts throughout the adventure.

Warning: this book uses a lot of words such as dumb, stupid,... Some parents might object. However the writing has substance and is funny. The first book, Miss Daisy is about a teacher who plays stupid and gets her students to learn without them realizing it. The students want to convert the school into a video arcade, and the principal makes them a deal.

Emmaline is a young girl living in a gray, concrete town. No trees, wild animals, or non-standard behavior is allowed. However, Emmaline is different. She dresses in color and wants a wild bunny, as a pet. Almost every page has beautiful, author illustrated pictures, and the text is very poetical. The author is not afraid to invent quite a few nonsense words to keep the rhythm.

Pee-Wee, a pet guinea pig, is abandoned by his (human) family to live in Central Park. He befriends a squirrel named Lexi. Pee-Wee is a special guinea pig: he taught himself to read English. The story is a little on the slow side, but that makes it all the better for bedtime.

The adventures of a rubber ball, and a stuffed stingray, and a stuffed buffalo. Imagine Toy Story, but with more details, and a little more realistic. Each chapter pretty much tells its own story, so it makes a good early read aloud chapter book.

More adventures from the toys introduced in Toys Go Out . The chapters are largely self contained, and entertaining to read. The writing is quite smooth and sophisticated, yet understandable to a young child. More adventures from the toys introduced in Toys Go Out . The chapters are largely self contained, and entertaining to read. The writing is quite smooth and sophisticated, yet understandable to a young child.
I have read about 100 chapter books to 4 and 5 year old, and Toys is one of my favorite for young kids. It is not plot based like most other books. Instead the characters are fully developed. The book is full of emotion: not common at this read aloud level.
First read aloud Toys Go Out, then this one.

Martin Bridge is an eight year old boy with a lively imagination. What makes the book good is that it is very realistic, but contains those little magical moments of everyday life. Each chapter is a separate short story. In the first, a touch of warmth from a new bus driver seeps out and spreads, warming a cold relationship between Martin and the old bus driver. The book is subtle, but simple.

Catwings are cats that can fly. A poor pregnant cat, living on the streets, dreams of a better life for her unborn kittens. She dreams they will fly away, to a better life. The book is beautifully written, full of emotion, and hope for a bright future. This book is one of the best chapter books for really young children.

Stink is a second grader, younger brother to Judy Moody, who has her own series (see the kindergarten chapter book list). I personally like the Stink character more than his older sister. Maybe it's because of all the mean things Judy does to him.

The Magic Tree House series is a great stepping stone between picture books and chapter books. Most books written for a pre-k listening level take place in a realistic setting, like school. Not so with the magic tree house, it takes Jack and Anne throughout time and space: from the time of the dinosaurs to the future when men have colonized the moon. The books are exciting to read: Jack and Anne are often in real danger, though you know they will always make it back home. These books are also available in an audio format. I recommend reading at least the first four books. If you, the adult reader, gets bored, try playing the audio versions.

I read the first book, where Stupid Smelly Bus and stopped. I enjoyed the book; my child enjoyed it. But, every other word Junie says is the word stupid. In fact, my child started using the word stupid so much that I returned the rest of the series to the library. But, in fairness to the book, the book is good. There is another issue: Junie does not always speak in a grammatically correct fashion. This doesn't bother me but it bothers some people.

If you know any little boys (or girls) or don't like listening (or reading) books, Captain Underpants is the book for them. Two boys distribute their Captain Underpants comic book. They get in serious trouble with the meanest principal. It turns out, that after hypnosis, the principal becomes a real Captain Underpants. He shoots bad guys by rubberbanding his underwear. So far I have read four books: my favorite is Professor Poopy Pants. Both you and your child will be laughing hysterically. Be sure to read this to girls also. Girls like adventure books also.

A to Z Mysteries is a series of 26 little mystery books. The detectives are three kids who are very perseverant. As adult, I don't usually read mysteries, but for the child listener, they are like simple puzzles: can the child figure out the mystery? As you read this book to them, ask them questions about different clues. See if they can solve the mystery.

Kidnapped at Birth is the first book of the Marvin Redpost series. Marvin, a third-grader, is a bright boy with a conscious. The books hold the attention of young children, even as young as four years old, yet appeal to the adult also. Many short novels that are suitable to be read aloud to young children purely plot driven, and many times, dry and predictable. Not so with Sachar: his books are truly literature for the young. Though we have rated them for the preschooler, even an adult will enjoy reading them, and so will older children. My two favorite books in the series are 'Why Pick On Me' and 'Alone In His Teachers House.'

Stuey Lewis is a second grader with some anxiety. The book comprises four loosely tied short stories. In one, Stuey is anxious because he is not a very good reader. The strength of the book is in the teacher who is a model/perfect teacher. Kids really love books about school and this one teaches quite a few good lessons.

The true story of how a family of ducks captured the hearts of the people in Tokyo. Sato-san, a photographer, took special interest in the duck family. When it was apparent that the family of ducks would cross a main road, Sato-san camped out all night to make sure the ducks could safely cross (with a police escort). The smallest duckling, Chibi, became the favorite of many. All was well until a violent storm scattered the ducks...

A series of mysteries concerning four orphaned siblings. They run away, rather than go live with their grandfather and live in a boxcar (train). It was written using simple language so to be accessible to really young kids. It does read a little dated, so you will have to do some explaining to your kids.